An Awkward Party
by tea.and.madeleines
Summary: Forget about small hangouts and kickbacks...Jenna and her friends are at a real party this time, and the lurrrrve triangle is reaching its peak. Jenna/Jake & Jenna/Matty. Occasional language; underage drinking; some sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

I was sitting in the farthest corner of the cafeteria with Tamara and Ming, as usual, when I looked at the text I had just received…and nearly sprayed them with my mouthful of mashed potatoes. The text that had almost caused Hurricane Jenna was sent by none other than the dreaded Sadie Saxton: _ Jen: party at my house tonight. 10 o'clock. Bring your mom's schnapps._

Was this a genuine invitation? More likely it was a murder plot. Or someone's idea of a prank. Or maybe I was hallucinating? This was truly the last person in the universe who would contact me in a friendly way. I would have felt more sane if the text was from a Sesame Street character.

I decided to respond with caution: _Whoever this is, fuck off._

Half a second after hitting the send button, Tamara had my phone in her hands. "Are you texting Matty? Please please please let me edit." But the phone was already buzzing with a reply: _Don't be silly. I know how much you want to be there after you crashed my last party. So here's another chance to get your poorly-manicured paws on McKibben. Bring some of your freakish friends if you must._

Tamara looked at me, her eyes wide. "Oh. My. Blog. This is bananas. You know what I think? I think she wants to skin you and wear you like a fur coat. You're gonna show up for the party and she's gonna go all Cruella DeVille on you."

I snatched the phone back to respond. _Why are you doing this? Just leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone. No comprende?_

I waited for a response, trying to block out Tamara's extrapolations of Sadie's plan to kill me and steal my identity. Finally, the phone screen lit up. _Consider this repayment for the return of my diary. Now we're even. Besides, I keep my friends close and my enemies closer._

I looked up at Ming and Tamara. "Um, guys? I think we're crashing Casa del Saxton tonight."

Tamara shrieked and punched the air. "Oh, hell yes! Wear your beer goggles, girls, 'cause it might get messy!"


	2. Chapter 2

I flung out my left arm to catch Ming as she tripped up the step to the Saxtons' front door. "Careful, Miss Congeniality."

She sighed. "Yeah, I'm just not used to wearing heels." She looked down at her black platform pumps miserably. "And…well, I'm not used to lying to my parents. They totally bought my story about going to a late-night cram session at Sadie's for tomorrow's test, but I feel like sewer scum." I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Ming, you're not even going to drink! You're here now, so just enjoy this, okay? It's every adolescent's right to rebel a little bit…especially after they get a 98% in pre-calc. Your parents should consider themselves lucky to have a daughter like you."

"Yeah…tell that to my dad. He wanted to know where the missing 2% was," Ming frowned.

"Someone's coming to the door!" squealed Tamara, a bottle of peach schnapps in her left hand and a handle of rum in her right.

_Yeah, three guesses who_, I thought.

The door swung open to reveal (surprise, surprise) Sadie. "Well? Did you bring the alcohol?" she snapped. Her eyes fell on Tamara and, snatching the bottles, she smiled. "Mmkay, I'm off to put these to good use. Now go mingle. The living room is down the hallway, to the right. See you in a bit, girls." She strutted down the hall.

We stood in the entrance way of Sadie's not-so-humble abode for a few more moments, and I think we would have just kept standing there, but Tamara kicked us into gear. "Um, hello, are we going to enjoy our front row tickets to the A-list shitshow, or are we going to stand here like we were Stupefied, Hogwarts style?"

So we made our way down the hall and into the room. I was feeling pretty shaky, probably a 5 on the Richter scale…but I was definitely looking forward to seeing a certain somebody of the male species. I turned the (probably expensive) doorknob. Bass exploded from an iPod player; the words to the song were drowned out by the chatter of everyone in the room. It was safe to say that the party was in full swing…maybe we could sneak in unnoticed?

Suddenly, above all the noise, I heard, "Jenna! Over here!" I braced myself for the entire room to turn and stare at suicide girl. But it didn't happen! Everyone was so busy boozing that, for once, they cared more about their own lives than about mine. I turned my attention to the person calling my name. It was Matty. Was he actually trying to get my attention in public?

"Jenna! Come on, we just started playing Kings, there's room for you to join." He grinned at me from across the room, his eyes crinkling in that way they did. Oh, God. It just wasn't fair. No girl stood a chance against him. I looked at Tamara and Ming. Tamara made a shooing motion.

"What are you waiting for? Get over there, now! I'm off find some red cups for photo-ops. We'll regroup in an hour, by which time Matty will have asked you out and I'll have 200 new Facebook photos." Grabbing Ming by the wrist, she disappeared into the crowd. I had no choice but to head towards the group playing Kings.

As I got closer, Matty looked up and smiled again. I tried to smile back, but it got stuck somewhere between my brain and my mouth. I was close enough now to see the other people gathered around the table with cards. Matty sat in the middle of the couch, smiling wide as anything and patting an empty spot to his left. To his right sat Jake Rosati, who had kissed me last week, and now had his eyes glued to me as if I was about to perform my big solo number. On a couch opposite from him sat his girlfriend Lissa, who was glaring at me like I was the devil incarnate. To Lissa's left sat Sadie, who was smiling at me broadly. This was going to be interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

Sadie came at me and, gripping my arm, steered me into the empty spot next to Matty. "Jenna! So glad you're here," she beamed, shoving a Nattie Light into my hands before bending low and hissing into my ear. "You will do exactly as I say. When I say lose the round, you will lose. When I say win the round, you will win. If you draw a King and get to make a rule, I will make the rule for you. You're welcome."

I nodded, and felt an arm around my shoulders. Matty's arm. Well, this was a change from his anti-PDA crusade. He was beaming, his face inches from my own. God, his skin was perfect. This was definitely different from the other party I had been at, where I had seen him canoodling with some uberslut in the hot tub. Maybe he really would grow some balls and make it official between us.

"Man, Jenna, I am _so_ glad you're here," he murmured into my ear, his lips tickling where they touched. _Stay strong_, I thought to myself. _Remember, no TLC for Matty until we DTR _(that's **D**efine **T**he **R**elationship, for the acronym-impaired)_._

_ "_Matty! Your turn to draw a card! You're holding up the game, silly," Sadie crooned from across the table.

"Really? I thought I just…ah, okay," Matty said, looking confused but reaching for the cards spread out around a beer on the table. "Got another Jack…okay, so it's 'never-have-I-ever'". Everyone else held up 3 fingers, and I followed, pretending to know what I was doing. Matty squinted his eyes and bit his lip in thought, and I knew every other girl in the room would sell her soul to the devil, or at least to Sadie Saxton, if they could be the one nipping on that lower lip instead. "Mmkay, so never have I ever…been in a relationship." Well, this definitely lowered the chances that he was going to ask me out. Jake and Lissa each put down a finger, and everyone else left their three fingers up.

"Relationships are such drags," gushed Sadie, her eyes hot-glued to Matty. Suck-up. As if she wouldn't jump into one with him if given the opportunity.

"Well, Sadie, some would say that being in a relationship helps teach you greater emotional maturity," Jake said, smiling a little with his eyebrows raised at her.

"Yeah, dude. Like teaching you to be faithful to your girlfriend?" Matty shot at Jake with uncharacteristic snappiness. Jake's fair skin turned slightly pink. "Yeah, of course…like that," he nearly whispered. Uhhhh…pump the breaks and put it in reverse for a second. WHAT WAS THAT COMMENT ALL ABOUT? My guess was that Matty was either experiencing a sudden onset of some brutal PMS (very probable), or that he somehow knew about Jake randomly lip-locking with me in the hall the other day. But…wouldn't he have said something to me if he knew? How was I supposed to understand the male psyche?

"Um, Matty, like what are you even saying? Stop trying to drop drama bombs, 'cause it's not working," Lissa pouted as she grabbed Jake's hand.

"Anyway, moving on," Jake said, clearing his throat. "Never have I ever…uh, gone skinny dipping." No one put down a finger except Sadie, who smiled bashfully. I suppressed a shudder.

It was Lissa's turn, and she sat a little taller and glared at Matty as she spoke. "Never have I ever…like, lied to someone so that they would sleep with me." Matty put down a finger. My heart sank.

"Oh, come on! That was totally aimed at me…not cool. You're making me look bad, Liss. I only ever tell white lies," Matty frowned at Lissa.

"My turn!" crowed Sadie. "Never have I ever…hmmm…well, this _is_ a little elementary school, but…never have I ever been inside the guy's school bathroom." Matty and Jake put down fingers. So did I. Everyone stared at me. "Took a wrong turn," I shrugged. Jake laughed out loud and I sensed him trying to make eye contact, but Matty pulled me closer with his arm so that all I could see was the side of his shirt. Mmm…he smelled like mint, and wood, and soap, and…

"Jenna! Your turn!" Sadie said, pulling my arm forward to wrench me free from Matty. "Get him out with this one," she murmured in my ear. I didn't need to ask who she meant.

"Never have I ever…shaved my face," I said, knowing that it would get Matty out, but hoping that I might catch Sadie in a conundrum as well. No such luck. Matty and Jake put fingers down and each took a gulp of their beer. Oops, I had forgotten that Jake also had only one finger left.

"Finally! Longest game of never-have-I-ever EVER," Sadie said, with a smile like an alligator. "You draw the next card, Jake."


	4. Chapter 4

At least a half-hour had passed, and by now I had realized that it was Sadie's intention to get Matty as drunk as possible. If she thought that making him wasted would help her get into his pants, she was mistaken. Matty was insecure enough about hanging out with someone like me; he would never get it on with a girl who had a little more cushion for the pushin'.

Anyway, it was good news for me that no amount of alcohol could convince him to ride Sadie's rollercoaster, because Matty was pretty schnockered at this point. He leaned against me on the couch, speaking into my hair: "Jennaaa, you know…I really like you…I do…" The muscles in his arm tightened against my lower back…resisting Matty was going to be harder than I thought. Still, I was determined to have him make it official...I was tired of being his dirty little secret.

As this was happening, Jake stood to get another beer and lost his footing, falling on top of us. He was almost as plastered as Mr. McKibben. When Matty had drawn an 8 (8 = pick a date), Matty had picked Jake, meaning that every time one of them had to drink, the other did, also. Both were out of their minds by this point, while everyone else was enjoying a buzz. Including me.

"Sorry…got a head rush when I stood up," Jake explained, smiling lopsidedly with his perfect teeth and blue eyes. He was cute when he was drunk. Like a puppy dog. As he picked himself up off of us, his forearm brushed my side. I shivered pleasantly. His skin was warm, and soft.

"My turn!" shouted Sadie, reaching for a card. "King! I get to make a rule." Looking at Matty, she continued… "The rule is…no names. If you call someone by their name, you have to drink. Or…" she smiled mischievously, "…or, instead of taking a drink, you have the option to kiss them. Did you hear me, Matty?" she asked pointedly. "Oh…oops! Said your name. I'm already super drunk, I shouldn't have any more…so I guess I'll have to kiss you."

Matty looked confused. "Uh…okay, on the cheek then."

"What are we, 10 years old and playing spin-the-bottle? Lame rule, Sadie," Jake said as she placed her lips on Matty's perfectly sculpted cheekbone.

"Do I detect jealousy? I'm sorry, but the butt-buddies thing is getting old," Sadie retorted. "And you said my name...kiss or drink?

"I'll drink," frowned Jake, taking a swig he really didn't need.

"My turn." I drew a card. "7," I shouted, throwing my hand to the sky (7 = heaven). I definitely had gotten the hang of this game. Everyone followed suit. Lissa was last. "Oh nooo…" she hiccuped. She was more messed up than I had realized…definitely a lightweight. "I'm out of beer…"

"Here," Sadie grinned evilly, handing her a bottle of vodka. "Take a bottle shot." Even a party novice like myself could tell that this was a bad idea. Lissa gulped some down and burped loudly, grimacing. "Ugh…that was awful," she murmured, then immediately bent forward and vomited all over Jake.

A silence louder than the school fire alarm ensued.

Sadie broke the moment with an irritated shriek. "AUGH! You got some on the rug...that was imported! Although I'm sure that word is too long for you to understand! Liss, to the bathroom. I'll take you. Matty, stay here, I'll be right back. Jake, go to my parent's room and get some of my dad's clothes or something." She stood up, grabbing Lissa, then paused and turned slowly towards me, her trademark scowl on her face. Damn, she had realized she was leaving me alone with Matty.

"Jenna…you had really better help Jake to my parent's room and make sure he's alright," Sadie simpered at me, and turning to Jake, continued in a loud whisper, "just don't let her near the nail scissors." I stood up, figuring it would be best to just obey Sadie's orders. Being in her house was like being on a dog's territory, and I certainly wasn't going to give her a reason to attack.

Matty started to stand with me, but Sadie pushed him back onto the couch with one hand. "MATTY, STAY PUT!". Locking eyes with Jake, I jerked my head towards the hallway, and he followed me as we escaped the scene of the crime.

I had been so absorbed in our little corner that I hadn't noticed the rest of the party. Now, I realized that the chandelier was dimmed, someone had turned on some multicolored strands of lights, and people were dancing. As I led Jake through the crowd, I bumped into _way_ too many grinding couples. It was seriously a struggle to get through the hump-fest obstacle course. I thought of Tamara...she would have gone all, "move bitch, get out the way" on them. I hoped she and Ming were doing okay...I turned around to make sure I hadn't lost Jake. "You doing okay back there?"

He smiled and looked me straight in the eye. Well, somewhat straight; he was swaying a little. "Yeah. I'm gonna hold on to you so we don't get separated, if that's okay."

I nodded and turned my attention back to moving forward, reaching my arm back so that he could take my hand. But instead of feeling his hand in mine, I felt his palms suddenly on the sides of my waist, his fingers resting on my stomach. Oh, snap. _Well, that works_, I thought, as my skin tingled from head to toe.

…

_ Readers who have reviewed the story so far: I have no words for how fantastic it has been to get feedback. Thank you! This is my first EVER story for Fanfiction, so I felt a bit like I was swimming in uncharted waters (and, subsequently, like I might drown). I've thought about posting on Fanfiction before, but the script for" Awkward." is just SO RAD that I was really inspired and had to do it._

_I'm really trying to capture the vibe of the show and how the characters speak, so any constructive criticism of how I might improve this will definitely be taken into consideration._

_Anyway, I hope I'm helping a little with the tragic lack of fanfiction for this show, and I'm going to keep going with the story for at least a few more chapters. Thanks for reading _:)


	5. Chapter 5

We eventually made it through the house to Sadie's parents' bedroom, where an interior decorator had _clearly_ been at work. It was like walking onto the set of a "Real Housewives" show: lots of marble, fancy fabrics…and all of it was probably maintained by a maid named 'Lupe', 'Esperanza', or 'Consuela'.

"Uhm. Well. You sit," I said, pointing to the huge four-poster bed, "And I'll go through the closet. It'll be like 'What Not to Wear'". I turned my attention to the rows of pleated khaki pants and Brooks Brothers dress shirts in the closet. Not promising.

"Jenna, I - ", Jake started to say something behind me.

I cut him off. "Mmkay, well, if you would rather, we can make it a more 'Say Yes to the Dress' kind of thing…" He laughed. He had a great laugh, even when he was drunk. I turned around. Jake was laying on his back, his arms stretched over his head, looking totally content…despite being covered in his girlfriend's alcoholic vom.

"Jenna, you're funny. Why are you so funny? Lissa's not funny. She's like every other girl. She _tries _to be like every other girl," Jake mumbled, his eyelids half-closed.

Uh oh…time to put a stop to this convo before he got going. "Jake, I know _way_ more about you and Lissa's personal life than any individual should. Besides…I'm not exactly qualified to be talking about relationships. You know," I pointed to myself, "ridin' solo…"

"No, wait," he protested, pushing up onto his elbows. "I don't want to talk about her. I want to talk about you. And me. About…about the kiss…" he trailed off. My stomach plummeted to my knees.

"Uh…sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not so sure this is a good time." Truth be told, I wasn't sure if there _was_ such a thing as a good time to talk about how Jake had basically cheated on Lissa by kissing me. I was pretty sure that we were juggling a ticking time bomb. I just didn't know whether it would blow up in his face, or mine.

"Jenna, I _like_ you. And I want to break it off with Lissa. And be with you," he stated bluntly. Apparently he didn't care whether this was a good time or not. I felt my face turning red. Jake Rosati, class president, varsity player, all-around high school hero, wanted me? It had to be the rum talking. I didn't know what to say. So I did what I do best. ..I deflected the tension.

"Thanks, Jake, but I can't really take you seriously covered in stomach bile. I should clean you up a little bit before we continue this, um…nice little chat." I held up the wet washcloth I had grabbed from the master suite's bathroom.

"Oh…yeah, do that," he responded quickly. He looked suddenly twitchy and nervous, the way he sometimes got randomly when I was talking to him. Maybe I had said the wrong thing? I guess I wasn't very encouraging. I sat on the bed next to him and started cleaning his left ear, and he closed his eyes and laid back onto the bed. With his eyes shut, I got a good, long look at him. Even though he smelled like the inside of a Philadelphia dumpster, he was still cute. I mean, the guy's eyelashes were longer than mine.

I have a small confession: I'd always wanted to know what Jake's hair was like, and now seemed like a good time to (secretly) find out. It honestly looked like he spent more time on it than I did on mine…I reached out a hand impulsively, hoping it wouldn't be sticky with gel, or worse, crispier than a crunchy eel roll from the sushi bar. It was a relief to discover that it was surprisingly springy, and very soft.

"Jake," I whispered. No response. "Jake, I'm done. You're clean," I said more loudly. Nothing. It dawned on me that he had passed out. FML. I flicked the side of his head, hard.

"Mmmfff," he said in a muffled voice, his eyes opening. "Ow. Why'd you do that?"

"You drifted off…are you okay?"

"Oh, sorry…yeah…" He looked alright, maybe a little glazed…I wasn't too worried. He would definitely feel a little worse for the wear in the morning, but he didn't look like he was going to need his stomach pumped or anything. He looked upwards my hand, which was still in his hair.

"Your hair is springy," I said intelligently. "Thank you…I think," he responded, smiling. I smiled back. Even when I was being as socially unacceptable as possible, everything felt normal with him. Jake sighed, and a serious, intense look replaced his smile. His hands found my shoulders and he pulled me towards him. "Jake, stop, what're you – ", I started, but as I shifted backwards onto my knees, I lost my balance and fell forward, and he pulled me on top of him. I quickly sat up, still on his lap.

"Jenna," he breathed, "I'm sorry I'm messed up right now, but I really, _really _like you." His hand found its way into my hair, and he stroked it.

"Uh…I can sort of tell." I looked down, and his eyes followed mine. Even through his jeans, I could tell that his joystick was ready to play some, uh, Atari games, and waiting for me to push the 'Start' button.

"Oh, shit. Sorry," he said, turning pink and shifting a little so that Jake Jr. wasn't pressed against me. I laughed. "Really, it's okay. Very flattering." We fell into a few moments of silence. The room was spinning a little. I didn't know whether to stay put, get off of him, or flee the premises completely. I settled for just breaking the silence. "Um…so what'cha thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about how I really want to kiss you again," he murmured hoarsely.

"Well..." Hmm, this was going to be tough to say. "Jake, you're going to have to wait to scratch that off your wish list until you deal with the whole girlfriend situation. Because I really don't want to help you cheat. Again. Anyway…don't you think you and I are better off just…being friends?"

He pulled me down closer to him. My nose was touching his; I could feel his heavy breath against my cheek. "You don't get it…I'm breaking up with Lissa the next chance I get. We're all wrong for each other. I would break up with her right now, if she didn't have her head in the toilet, which she does…and I've never met anyone like you."

I knew I had enough self-control not to make a move, but I didn't have enough to break away when he pressed his lips to mine. I felt my own lips respond, and he kissed back harder. My hands found their way into his blonde hair again; his hands ran down my sides. Suddenly, I felt a twinge in the kiss, and a shiver ran though me as Jake bit my lip. I pressed my body into his, and he made a noise at the back of his throat. I sat up quickly. "Sorry, did I hurt you?" Jake was flushed, his eyes bright. "No," he breathed, "No, I didn't mean to be weird, that just…felt really good, you know?" Oh, I knew. He pulled me down toward his face again.

There was no question that Jake was a better kisser than Matty. Oh, wait…MATTY. I pulled my head back fast enough to get whiplash. "Wait, Jake. I can't do this. It's not right..."

"Is this about Lissa again?" he asked, looking confused.

"No…although, that's definitely a problem. It's that…well, you've been completely honest about your whole relationship situation, and I can't really say the same. It's probably best to just spit this out…I've, uh…I've kind of been…hooking up with Matty, ever since summer camp, it's…confusing…I don't know if he wants a real relationship…and I, uh…well, I just thought…you should know…."

I had started off confidently enough, planning to just get the info off my chest. I had even though I might hear him say that he already knew about the situation with Matty…but the blank look on Jake's face told me that this was not good. _Very_ not good.


	6. Chapter 6

"…Is this real? Or are you just saying this to bother me? Like, is this some kind of revenge to get back at me for having a girlfriend?" Jake asked slowly, his face utterly expressionless. I wanted to run and hide…under the covers, in the closet, under a desk – really, anywhere would work. Val's office was even looking preferable; I would definitely rather be suffering some hardcore V-time than have to explain myself while spotlighted by Jake Rosati's eyes. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to feel guilty (it certainly wasn't _my_ fault that Matty and I were on the DL), but I didn't feel so confident about what I was saying all of a sudden.

"I…" My mouth was dryer than dry; it reminded me of the week that my mom had decided to take up baking (let's face it, some women are just NOT cut out to be domestic goddesses) and force-fed me the resulting chalky mounds. "I don't know why he didn't tell you. I don't know why he won't tell _anyone_," I managed to spit out as Jake pushed me off of him gently and stood.

"_You're_ his mystery girl from camp?" he asked quietly, his eyes wide and blank.

"We got together at camp, and then ever since…on and off…and I don't know if it's going anywhere, but, I mean, expected it to, but now…he apparently didn't even tell his best friend, so maybe not, but I really thought...I don't know…" I was babbling worse than Val off her meds, and I knew it, but I didn't know what to say. I only knew by his silence and the look on his face that I had said the wrong thing.

"This is the real Jenna Hamilton, huh?" Jake finally murmured as he stared at me. "Just another member of the Matty club? Well, good job, because you sure had me fooled. I thought you were different, Jenna. But I guess you're just like everybody else."

His words hurt like a slap across the face, but instead of my cheek burning with the sting, I felt my throat burning as a lump of tears welled up.

"I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear," I heard myself whisper.

"Not what I wanted to hear? Jenna, I basically just asked you to date me and you tell me you've been doing the nasty with my best friend. I think that's an understatement. I should leave." He turned toward the bedroom door to go, and I felt a swell of anger under my tears.

"I never pretended to be anyone I wasn't…I've never kept anything from you on purpose. I've _always_ said we should just be friends, Jake. So don't take it out on me." Jake spun around to face me again. He looked about as confused as I felt.

"Jenna," he said flatly, taking a step toward me so that our noses were only inches away, "I know Matty better than anyone. And he has _never_ been looking for a relationship. But somehow – Every. Girl. In. Palos. Hills. Falls for his shit. And I actually thought that you weren't one of them."

"Maybe I don't want to be one of them," I breathed. Silence. I was suddenly aware of how overly close we were as he stared into my face; it felt all-too-familiar to the moment before our kiss not 10 minutes ago. He tilted his head forward a bit closer, and I felt the edges of everything blur as my heart pounded harder than the dubstep blaring down the hallway…

He drew back, his eyes less hard than before, but unreadable. "I'm sorry for ruining your night. You're right…it's not _your_ fault…." Abruptly, he turned back toward the door, wrenched it open, and disappeared down the hall. I flopped back onto the bed, alone and miserable. _Not_ how I had pictured my first big in-crowd rager. I buried my head between two pillows, and laid there for a few minutes before thinking better of it: as if I needed someone to walk in and think I was attempting to suffocate myself. Time for a tried-and-true cure for misery…carbohydrates. Lots of them. I dragged myself off the bed, out the door, and down the hall to find the kitchen.

Ignoring whatever shenanigans were going on in the living room, I headed straight for the archway that I knew led into Sadie's kitchen…only to find a couple having a tongue-to-tongue convo on the marble countertop.

"Oh – sorry!" I raised my hand to cover my eyes, then did a double take. I could only see the guy's back, but on either side of his hips hung skinny legs with black platform pumps. Over the top of his head, I could see a hat on the girl's head of dark hair…one that had been hand-knitted. With organic yarn free of harmful dyes or bleaches.

"Ming? _Is that you?_" Sure enough, her face popped out from behind the guy, glasses and all, looking flushed and shocked.

"Ohmygod...um, it's not what it looks like. I mean…I don't know what I mean. I don't even know how this – Jenna, are you crying?" Ming pushed back her boy toy (who I still hadn't gotten a good look at) flung herself toward me, and started dabbing at the runny mascara on my face. "What happened? Unless this is the look you were going for…a bold choice, very Lindsay Lohan, post-clubbing..."

"You're one to talk, Ming! Get a little drink in you and you're like a walking, talking Jersey Shore episode, apparently. Who even _is_ this guy?"

Ming turned redder, and began to speak, but her partner in saliva-swapping crime cut her off. His backwards baseball cap and drunkenly glazed eyes were looking unpleasantly familiar. "Hey, you're my little bro's slampiece!" Jaimie McKibben was grinning ear-to-ear at me.

I grabbed Ming's arm in a death grip and steered her away before he had time to react. "Gotta go – bathroom – bye".

"Hey – what was that for! He was cute. And I know he's related to Matty and everything, but it's not _that weird…_" Ming complained as I led her into the hall.

"It is when he's a grade-A perv! I've met him before, he interrupted a moment between Matty and I outside their house…"

I decided we had better _actually_ go to the bathroom in case we were being followed by a certain creeper, and we started trying doors in the hallway. Or at least I did, while Ming balanced against the wall. Passing partygoers stared at her.

"No, that was a closet…this one's locked…ah, I think this is it…" The door swung open much more quickly than I was pushing it; someone was pulling from the other side. I raised my eyes slowly and saw…a much more welcome member of the McKibben family.

"J-town! Been looking for you everywhere!" I got a glimpse of Matty's smiling face, emanating drunken joy, as he pulled me into a bear hug like he hadn't seen me in decades. "Where'd you go for so long?"

"Sadie sent me to help Jake…remember?" I spoke, muffled, against his chest.

"Oh…right…" He held me back at a distance, a hint of a frown now on his face. "Uh, I don't know if you're busy right now or anything, but would we be able to…talk?"

My eyebrows popped up like Lissa's mom's after her semi-annual Botox appointments. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Just about….I mean, I haven't been able to be…well, I don't do relationships too well, but I know…Jenna, you're special to me…" He stopped, looking more tongue-tied than ever.

Okay, so he hadn't exactly defined the relationship, but I could tell that some wheels were turning in his head, and maybe they would have gotten somewhere if cheap beer wasn't clogging them up. I leaned in, hoping he'd show me just how "special" I was to him with a very public kiss…

"Jennnna! Help me get to the bathroom…I need to pee like a pregnant woman…can't walk in these shoes…" Ugh, Ming's timing. I looked over to where she had slid down against the wall and was trying to take her shoes off.

"I'll be just a minute," I mumbled to Matty.

10 minutes later, I wrenched the bathroom door open and two toilet paper rolls fell out into the hall. Matty was nowhere to be seen.

…

_I have to apologize for taking so long to get this bit up…I've been really busy with schoolwork (yes, I'm a college student), so writing has taken last priority. _Also - totally did NOT expect another party themed episode - so after watching "Aunt Ally and the Lil' Bitch" I was a little unsure of what direction to take my story in._ _

_And I'm sorry this chapter ends so abruptly! But I figured it would be better to just put up what I have, since I won't have time to write again for, potentially, another week. A big helping of Matty in the next chapter, I promise (with a little side of Jake)...  
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